


Empty Space

by eringeosphere



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28250733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eringeosphere/pseuds/eringeosphere
Summary: Yukio's first class on demon tamology does not go according to plan.
Relationships: Okumura Rin & Okumura Yukio
Comments: 9
Kudos: 82





	Empty Space

Yukio stares down at the summoning circle drawn on the slip of paper in his hand. Around him, he can hear the quiet chattering of his classmates at Cram School as they attempt to summon a familiar. Yukio has studied the theory, of course, but today is his first practical lesson. His first chance to see if he has the natural talent needed to pursue a Meister as a Tamer. 

"Don't be shy, now," the teacher calls. "This first time, just add a small drop of blood onto the circle, and say whatever pops into your head. Taming is something that people often have a knack for, and the best way to test it out is not to think too hard!"

Yukio frowns. Thinking things through is what he's good at; going with a gut instinct is more his brother's sort of strength. But Rin isn't here, and hopefully, he never will be. It's only Yukio, and Yukio can only do his best.

Before he can to more than lift a thumb to his mouth, a violent gust of wind blasts through the classroom. Yukio ducks his head behind his arm, clutching tight onto his piece of paper to stop it from being torn from between his fingers. After a few moments, the air calms and Yukio dares to peer out from behind the protective shield of his arm.

For a moment, Yukio can't see anything different. The desks and chairs had all been cleared to one side before they'd started, and nothing appears to have been further damaged. Then he notices a slight ripple in the vague shape of a person in front of one of his classmates.

Yukio squints. His eyes struggle to focus properly on the summon, and it's annoyingly reminiscent of the times he's been stuck without his glasses. A gentle breeze continues to circulate through the classroom, and Yukio is pretty sure he knows what sort of demon it is.

"A Sylph. Oh, well done!" Their teacher exclaims. "Fairly unusual, all things considered. They're not often interested in forming contracts, given their nature..."

Yukio tunes out the rest of the teacher's speech, instead recalling what he can of his textbooks and father's lessons.

 _A Sylph,_ Yukio mentally recites to himself, _is the generic name for a demon of the air elemental category. Certain local wind systems can give rise to extremely strong sylphs, and are best left to run their course whilst attempting to minimise or deflect damage. Notable examples include the Oroshi, from the Kanto Plain, the Zondo, which runs on the eastern edge of the Andes and the Witch of November, which dominates the North American Great Lakes through the autumn months._

Yukio takes a breath and firms his resolve. He's distracting himself from his own attempt. _Don't think to hard about it,_ he tells himself, then promptly realises that's exactly what he's doing. Biting his thumb, Yukio smears a bright red streak across the paper and opens his mouth. Waits for... something.

_anything_

His head is blank.

Yukio's world is quiet and still and empty and _he hates it._

Something sour starts to curdle in Yukio's gut. If he can't even manage this, what good is he? How is he supposed to protect anything like this?

The faintest of wishes floats up from the back of his subconscious. 

_I wish I had someone I could trust._

Then, from somewhere even deeper, the faintest coil of a thought he's kept buried for years and years and years.

I̴̪̞̫͚͓̞͈͌͊́͋̈̽̋͂ ̶̦̒̈̽w̵͍̦̮̤̅̿̒̀͑̄͂̋̀į̸̥̫̹̥̬̬͈̎͑͂͑̑̈́͒s̶̡̢͈͖̹̮̮̅͆͂̕ḧ̸̡̢̡̘͔̖̱̦́̂͒̚ͅ ̷̡̰̙̟͙̱͔͒̂͌I̴̥͇͖̺͚̝̖͚̍̽̍̉͒̇ͅ ̸͙̎̑͛̿͝c̷̡̛̛̩̮͎̅̑̑̆̍͜͝o̸̧͍̱̜͙͕͉͔̎̇̏̅͛u̶̧͉̦̟̞̲͖͊̆̈́̊̃͜͠l̶͙̯̞͆̈́̂̚͠d̸̙͍͌͐̄ ̷͔̦̤͓̙͎̀̀̆s̴̨͍͖̼̎̓͝t̴̙̖̤͗̅͒́̆̀́ȯ̸̟̠̒̋̋p̶͚͎̦͈͕̗̝͗̉͌̿͠͝ͅ ̵̧̖̘̲̌̽̽͋̑͆̐́̕l̸͙̱͈̱̟̣̳̟̋́̆͐̉̽͝y̵̭̩̗̭͎͙͕͒͂̈̄̏͑́̚ị̶̹͆̾̓n̴̜͍͆͗͋͂̓̈́̿̋͝g̶͈͉̫̤͍͑̊͘

"Get over here already!" 

The sound of his own voice surprises Yukio, and he claps a hand over his mouth as soon as he speaks. He hadn't meant to say that. He especially hadn't meant to say that in that particular tone of voice - 

His stomach lurches. The paper in his hand grows warm. There's a whoosh of displaced air and a familiar figure tumbles out of nothing and lands in a heap on the floor. 

The entire class stares.

Yukio thinks he might have stopped breathing entirely. 

"Ow Ow Ow, what was that?" 

The person - 

_because Yukio can't call him a human, can he? Not when he just. not when he_

\- pushes himself to his feet. 

Takes in the Cram School classroom with wide, wide eyes, before finally settling on the one who had accidentally summoned him. 

"Oh, Yukio!" Rin exclaims, a slow smile stretching across his face. "I'm really glad to see you!" 

_Oh no._ Yukio thinks desperately.

_Oh no, oh no oh no. This isn't what I meant at all._

**Author's Note:**

> I made the mistake of picking up the manga for Ao no exorcist after literally years and the most recent chapters were like being emotionally hit with a two by four. My brain ran from there. You know when ideas drop out of nowhere and demand to be written? Yeah. This is one of those.
> 
> Just squeaking this chapter out before the translation for Ch. 128 is released on Wednesday. Anyone else excited?


End file.
